Every time I watch The Chicago Code, not only do I enjoy it as entertainment, but I find something that I appreciate as a writer. With the show’s penultimate episode, Virgil Williams gave us a master class in the proper writing of moral ambiguity.
In many television shows (and movies), things are all too often black and white, or when they’re grey, they’re what writers think the audience will believe is grey; a palatable vagueness that’s there for dramatic effect or makes us hesitate, but doesn’t really provoke. Not so for The Chicago Code; Williams (who also wrote the great character study that was “Wild Onions”) gives us legitimate ambiguity, through arguments that are two-sided and people across the board who are human, regardless of what side they’re on.
Let’s start with the good guys. Looking for the key witness who’s gone missing, Jarek (Jason Clarke) is his usual tenacious self, including getting smart-mouthed with the uncooperative boss of the witness’s girlfriend. Use your adjective of choice — hotheaded, reckless, et cetera — but TV cops who don’t play by the rules are a dime a dozen. What makes Jarek different is that he does whatever he does, be it making a smart quip or getting in the face of a suspect, because it’s the right play; he’s not trying to be cool, and the writers aren’t trying to make us think he’s cool. His choices feel real.
Jarek gets more brownie points from me when he finds Alderman Gibbons (Delroy Lindo) waiting for him at episode’s end. Though Gibbons offers him the identity of his brother’s killer, Jarek’s resolve doesn’t waver. In fact, I was cheering as he told Gibbons to get out or he’d shoot him in the head. He’s the hero I can get behind because he’s the kind I wish for — the one who does what’s right, no matter what. Jack Bauer, you’ve got a worthy successor in Jarek Wysocki.
The hero with the most on his plate, however, is undercover cop Liam (Billy Lush). With his cover blown, Liam refuses to come in, instead using his closeness to Hugh Killian’s daughter (Shannon Lucio) to get his hands on the mobster’s ledger. For his troubles, Liam gets shot and is last seen being wheeled into surgery after bleeding all over Jarek. As other shows tease major deaths for ratings (I’m looking at you, Hawaii Five-O), Liam’s life-threatening injuries are definitely huge — but they’re also perfectly in-character. Liam has been cracking ever since his arson claimed a life earlier this season, and we saw in “Bathhouse and Hinky Dink” that he’s also willing to risk his life in the pursuit of justice. It was only a matter of time before his risk-taking caught up with him. There’s also something bittersweet about it; should he die, we know him well enough to know that he wouldn’t regret it, because he’ll have given his life for the damning evidence he wanted so badly.
Even our bad guys are human, which only serves to make them more effective villains. Gibbons is preparing to run for mayor of Chicago, and when he goes off on another rant about his future and the city, you almost want to believe him; if nothing else, you know that he believes himself. There’s no denying that even though he’s done a lot of wrong, he’s also done some things right for the city. He has never been the stock villain. Gibbons’ affair with his assistant Lily, hinted at in the pilot and subsequent episodes, comes back and we finally get to see that it’s not just a salacious aside; he does love her, and she’s actually important to the storyline. Even the little things on this show are important somehow; there’s no wasted space.
Williams also takes the time to flesh out the minor characters. There’s a good scene in which Lieutenant Kelly, Teresa’s chief of staff and Gibbons’ inside man, is asked by the alderman to expose the undercover officer in Killian’s crew. He could just roll over like a lap dog, but instead of actually resists the idea; he might be working for the wrong people, but he’s still a cop. Although he eventually relents when his family is threatened, it’s a nice touch to see that Kelly still has a respect for his badge and what it stands for, even though he’s a mole himself and a minor character that most writers might not even bother to give depth to.
The Chicago Code isn’t going to let the audience off easy by making the good guys great and the bad guys horrible. They’re all human, and we’re allowed to draw our own conclusions about each of them. There are things I love and things I dislike about every character – which is the same thing I’d say about real people, including myself. Nothing in this series fits a box, genre or strict definition, which is a breath of fresh air in a TV world that’s delineated by familiar patterns and statistics.
The proverbial cherry on top for this episode is what isn’t there. Now that the show has dealt with Jarek’s personal drama, it’s not mentioned once; there’s no time wasted on the melodrama of him brooding. The characters of Vonda and Isaac, who have felt forced into the last two installments, are absent here except for a few lines from Vonda near episode’s end. I love both characters, but I don’t miss them, because they’re not needed. I respect the writing even more for not forcing in pieces that wouldn’t fit.
Since The Chicago Code was wrapped awhile before it was axed, we’re spared the “we’re canceled, so we’re phoning it in” downturn that happens with many a series. This show may be over, but it’s not going out quietly — and I am certainly thankful for that.
Clacked by Brittany Frederick 
on May 17, 2011 @ 08:57 EST5EDT
Once again, fabulous review!